[some of the] companies that suck

 

Apple

Victoria’s Secret

Forever 21

Aeropostale

Urban Outfitters

Hershey

Faded Glory

Abercrombie and Fitch

Hollister

Skechers

Carter’s

Fruit of the Loom

Lacoste

Quiksilver

 

That is a list of companies that suck. Also a list of companies I will not be buying from in the future.

Why?

They use either child labor, slave labor, or something similar.

I’ve known about forced labor for a while. Passively known about it I guess.

I’ve seen the article titles that claim they will expose bad companies.

I’ve chosen not to read them, until today.

Why?

Because once you know, you’re responsible.

Responsibility isn’t always fun.

It’s harder to eat a Hershey bar knowing a child was probably forced to work to provide the cocoa Hershey uses.

I’m not saying I’ve never owned anything from any of those places. Because I have, and I do. I’m not going to destroy my ipad or burn any clothes I have from the listed companies. But I won’t be buying from them in the future.

Do you still want to buy that Mac knowing that someone was forced to assemble it?

hm.

And the companies I’ve listed aren’t just ones that might just seem a little sketchy. They’re ones that are definitely mistreating workers.

Not mistreating like we think of in the US like, “ughh, my stupid boss won’t let me take 3 weeks off to go to Malibu right after my maternity leave. Ughh.”

No. Like actual oppression.

But that’s okay, as long as our products are cheap, we still like them!

And then I think of all the American church programs, like VBS or something, that hand out products made by child slaves.

“We are so glad that we got our vbs program going and that we got all of our regular church attenders’ kids here by luring them with products made by children their age in 3rd world countries. That’s okay if a kid is being beaten, we got little Timmy here for his 4th year in a row. I mean really, let’s think about this…support slave labor and get Timmy here…or maybe make the kids miss chocolate this year..hmm”

GIHRQEWND

AGH

AGH AGH AGH

And maybe they don’t know the truth.

But it is our responsibility to seek the truth.

I’m not saying that I’ve been doing great, because I haven’t.

I have known, cared for a few minutes, and then moved on.

But it’s time to quit being indifferent.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” –Desmond Tutu

 

We like to pretend we care about the real issues, but we don’t. We care more about what idiotic thing Lindsey Lohan has done now or what hideous outfit/hairstyle Miley Cyrus is wearing now.

We are choosing to be blind idiots.

And you can say, yeah, but what difference is one angry teenage girl who refuses to shop at Hollister going to make?

Touché.

If I never buy a product made by slave labor ever again, the chances are no, no major changes will happen. But I still can’t wear jeans from Aeropostale and pretend that everything is okay I can’t pretend, “No humans were harmed in the making of these jeans”

But if I stop.

But if you stop.

And your neighbor.

And my neighbor.

And people are made aware.

Change can happen.

 

Oh and a little baby high-five to Nestle for making some effort

“Nestlé agrees to hire a third-party monitor to examine child labor in its supply chain.For a decade now, the world has known that cocoa in West Africa is often harvested by children under difficult and dangerous conditions. That cocoa is purchased by the world’s leading chocolate companies and eventually becomes the chocolate treats that we all love to eat. For years, the advocacy community has pushed the chocolate industry to do more to combat this intractable problem. This year, Nestlé agreed to hire the Fair Labor Association, a nonprofit monitoring group, to look for child labor and other problems in the Côte d’Ivoire.”

 

Sources:

http://www.free2work.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/DOL-Tainted-Goods-2010.pdf

http://stopchildlabor.org/?p=2528

http://www.care2.com/causes/do-your-clothes-come-from-slave-labor.html

http://www.free2work.org/trends/apparel/Apparel-Industry-Trends-2012.pdf

Caught in the Middle.

 

So since my senior banquet last Saturday, I’ve been thinking, a dangerous pastime, I know.

I was always like…let’s do this. Let’s grow up. Let’s do it.

Wah.

I mean, I’m ready to graduate, don’t get me wrong.

but, um, yeah, I don’t know if I want to grow up. I still feel like I am a little girl. I mean, I am a little girl.

Like that is still me, I make that face seriously every day.

One minute, I think I’m like, “mhm. look at me all being a grown up.” and the next I’m like, “ohhh myy gosh. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS! I am a child.”

It’s kind of frighteningly exciting.

I don’t know.

I want to run around and tell every child to quit wishing they could grow up because I’m almost there and from what I can see, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

And then I want to dance. and sing. because it’s the start of something new.

But I’m still a little girl in many ways.

Princess Diaries is still my favorite movie. I lick the spatula when no one is looking. Swinging is still fun. I got a tiny bit competitive playing hungry hungry hippos while I was recently playing with a 5 year old. I pick all of my nail polish off. I like to catch fireflies. I think blanket forts are fun.

But in some ways, I’m starting to be an adult.

I’ve got college credits under my belt. I can drive. I’ve had a “real” job.

But I’m not ready.

I wish I could go back to 10 years old. I miss playing with Barbies.

I don’t like to think about the future.

But sometimes I do.

I like to think about having a degree, and all the new opportunities I’ll have. Being a career girl and all.

But that is absolutely terrifying. Thinking about bills, responsibility, and pantsuits. (I really hope I never have a job which requires me to wear a pantsuit, ever.)

I had to answer some “life-planning” questions for school and one of them was:

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Um, yeah, honestly I have no idea. I mean on one hand I see myself living in a cute little apartment with a cat and working as a caseworker. On the other hand I see myself married, wearing sweatpants everyday, and living in a house with a little white picket fence. On another hand, I see myself getting my 5th degree or something weird like that. On the other hand I see myself living in Central America playing with babies, picking avocados, and walking around with unkempt hair and a baby monkey on my shoulder.

Apparently I need more hands. I mean right now the last option would definitely be the preferred. But I can’t say that’s the definite future. Or that I wouldn’t be happy in any of the other roles.

Because it’s weird.

I mean.

I don’t know.

I’m a child.

My brain isn’t even fully developed yet.

And here I am charting my life’s course.

Oh. goody.

So here I am, stuck in between little girl and…big girl?

Caught in the middle.

“Couldn’t wait to get going, but wasn’t quite ready to leave.”

I mostly just put that song here for that^ one line.

Also I want to know how she is laying in a field and not being bombed with grasshoppers?

One second I’m ready to move out and get on with life as soon as I am capable. A few minutes later I have decided to become a “career-child” and live in my parents’ basement forever.

I don’t want to be a little girl.

But I don’t want to grow up, not now, I wish I had a few more years of being a kid. I’m where 5-6-7-12-15 year old me was looking forward to, but um, I’ll take 8 year old me back, please.

I wish I had enjoyed knowing nothing and literally having no cares or not having to make any decisions. I wasn’t even thinking past…um lunchtime? And oh, now here I am, not even a decade later, having to buckle down and make things happen…

I want to grow up someday.

But I don’t know if I want to yet.

“ If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” –Lemony Snicket.

respect, just a little bit.

 

Ah, facebook. I get so many blog posts from you and your insanity.

Today I  bring to you, respect.

Not like anti-cyberbullying but just regular old respect.

Specifically for one certain family. The Obamas.

Sorry all of you conservatives, but it’s true.

Can you hate every decision the President has ever made in his life, ever? Suuuure. Fine by me.

But you cannot, absolutely cannot hate the president, as a human being. .

I saw a photo of Michelle on facebook in which she was being compared to a prostitute. That’s real classy, you’re getting your point across, real well.

Oh my gosh. Wow. That really is deep and convicting.

If you really can’t think of a better argument against someone than to compare his wife to a streetwalker, then you need to get a grip. (Okay, and seriously, I think it’s an ugly outfit, but it’s not trashy. I mean..)

 You can argue against the President’s policies or beliefs, or be unhappy with the amount he vacations or what-not. But when you start making fun of his or his family’s appearance, you’ve crossed the line.

What’s that saying, it goes something like, “We choose our president based on their appearance, and Miss America on her stance on politics.”

People. Seriously.

There are much better ways to defend your beliefs. Debate what you believe. Hate Obamacare? Then give some reasons why you hate it. Give some facts. Don’t share stupid pictures on the internet.

Defend your opinion, stand up for what you believe is right, but don’t attack the other person. What ever happened to attacking someone’s view or opinion and NOT the person.

It goes both ways though. Conservatives, liberals, independents, whatever.

Can we just show an ounce of respect?

And if we’re going to be sharing photos of politicians with captions, this is the kind I appreciate.

THIS IS THE STAAAAAAART OF SOMETHING NEEW

and this kid basically knows everything.

“when you were a kid did you say, ‘I wanna be boring and mean when I grow up.’? What?!”

DIDN’T THINK SO.

 

disclaimer: blah-dee-blah, this is in no way about any one person, so if you shared/liked the above photos, I don’t hate your guts or anything, I just think you’re being ridiculous. Sorry.

 

 

Oh and in other news, I’m writing over here a bit now…of course, what I say there is a bit less sarcastic and annoyed sounding, but you know.

OUR COUNTRY, OUR LANGUAGE. no. get over yourselves.

 

I don’t claim to know much about politics. But if I believed every thing I saw shared on facebook I would think:

• Obama is the antichrist
• Republicans are all greedy dirtbags
• Marco Rubio is dumb, because he is thirsty.
• Michelle Obama is an idiot, because GMA cares about her clothes.
• That the president and congress should be put on minimum wage. (okay, I get your point, people, but that is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.  are they overpaid? Probably. but I don’t think paying them 7.25 an hour would fix our country’s problems.)
• Obama singlehandedly, flew over to the Middle East and with his own hands shot Bin Laden.
• Obama had nothing at all to do with ending Bin Laden.
• Mitt Romney is the devil because his dog rode on top of his car.

So I guess point number one is, facebook is not the best place to get your news from..

But another thing I see a lot of, is: “if they are going to come to our country, they need to learn our language.”

And somehow people think as soon as a (legal) immigrant steps onto American soil they should immediately be fluent in English. and be well versed in everything American.

Guys, I have some news for you, learning a language is hard. It’s not like you can take an English 101 class or use Rosetta Stone for 6 months and be ready to take on the world. No. I’ve studied Spanish off and on for 4-5 years and I couldn’t go down to Honduras and say anything I felt like. It’s hard.

I understand why people don’t appreciate illegal immigrants, I totally get that, but you’re forgetting there are people who are legally here too. People who came to what is supposedly the best nation.

We’re not very hospitable are we? Our country, our language, we say. Learn our ways or get out.

I’m not saying that people should not make an earnest effort to learn English, absolutely they should. But let’s try to show  a little grace and kindness here people. Before you judge others for not knowing your language immediately, why don’t you try to learn a language? See how difficult that is. So let’s not jump to conclusions and believe everyone who is not completely fluent in English is here illegally.

When I was in Guatemala, I attempted to speak some Spanish, and you know what, there are times I know for a fact I was wrong, I would think about the conversations later that day and think, “ah man. Should’ve used esta not es. Shoot.” but the thing is, they didn’t stop and give me some judgemental “idiota” face. No. They just kept talking to me like nothing ever happened.

We like to pretend we are Jesus’ favorite nation. GOD BLESS AMERICA. say all the bumper stickers.

How do you think Jesus would have treated the family who had just (legally) immigrated from Chile?

Yeah, you’re right, He probably would have said something like, “Get out of our country. Learn our language,” or, “Get out, you don’t belong here.”

Actually, the Jesus I know probably would have stopped and gone out of his way to help that family. Helped teach them English, or at least made them feel welcome in this strange, new place.

I have a newsflash, y’all. You don’t own America.

Let’s say in a strange turn of events, Nicaragua really got itself together and turned out awesome, and the United States  crumbled, so some Americans immigrated down there. You’ve made a real effort to learn Spanish, but you’ve only had a year to prepare, so you can order at restaurants, and make it through a grocery store, but many things are still difficult for you. Think about how nice it would be to get people’s judgmental glares. Think about how great it would be to hear people say to each other under their breath, “si ellos estan en nuestro pais, ellos necesitan aprender nuestro idioma. ahora.”

Ah. Sweet hospitality.

Try stepping into someone else’s shoes. And another shocking fact: sharing the snarky photos on facebook does absolutely nothing to help get these people learning English. nothing. Actually if I was them, and I continually saw stuff like that, because I’m ornery, I would probably try to hold off learning.

Instead of being so harsh and rude, why can’t we just help? Why don’t we try to be a little more understanding. Let’s remember that while English is the most used language in the States, we have no official language. Let’s remember that at one time (unless you are 100% Native American), our ancestors were all immigrants.

 

And in the words of my favorite motivational speaker, Kid President, “If it doesn’t make the world better, don’t do it.”

Self-Portrait Project…(hey I’ll finish this one!)

 

I’ve tried to do those photo challenge things a few times now, and I always fail. I usually make it about halfway through and then I’m like, “meh.” And I always end up with “eh, okay” photos because I am taking the picture just for the sake of checking it off my list.

The thing is, I like to take pictures of what I want to take photos of. Not of what some random person on the internet created. And one a day was just too much for me, I mean one picture is nothing, but when you’re being told what to photograph, it’s a lot, because just because it’s day 17 and the list says “clouds” doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to find some awesome clouds or a landscape to take a picture. I feel pressured by some stupid file I’ve made my laptop background to remind me.

YOU CAN’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, YOU STUPID LIST.

So I made my own, but instead of 1 photo everyday for a month, it’s 1 photo, every month, for a year. Oh, and they’re all supposed to be self portraits, because I will do whatever I tell myself to do, and I won’t look at myself like I’m a freak for some weird idea (actually, okay, I totally will, but I won’t judge myself, not forever).

I think this way will be more conducive to good pictures. And I like it more. because I wrote it myself. So if I don’t like it, I can blame myself.

And yeah…I guess I should’ve started this in January…but I am not one for conforming to societal standards. That or I didn’t think of it until the end of February.

Anywho, here is March, Study:

kind of ironic, since I should have been studying when I took and edited this.